In November Dominik got the news that he had a slot for the Swissman 2014. The entries were raffled taking into account some quotas like women and national vs international athletes. We were happy that he got one of the 250 spots in this year's race.

The thing about Swissman is that the athlete cannot compete solo. He does need a supporter who helps him in the transition zones, transports the things he doesn't need anymore, gives him clothing he might need for a steep pass and moreover acts as food & beverage supplier throughout the race as there were practically no organised spots. Finally the supporter also has to accompany the athlete the last 8km from Grindelwald up to Kleine Scheidegg as it might be dark and the athlete is most probably exhausted of the 10h+ of the race.

Anyway, Dominik had his entry. His training partner and logical supporter who moreover competed at Swissman 2013 had actually managed to have the same date as due date for the birth of his first child and was no option. His colleagues of the club in Basel also were in the midst of their marathon season. So all of a sudden it wasn't that crazy that I would do the supporter job. I don't want to say that I was "second" choice, actually, I was first choice all along, but definitely had to increase my form for trail running as I didn't want to become his handbreak. So the decision to compete in the Swissman meant increased training units for both of us.

Being his supporter meant more to me than just accompanying him on race day. The training consumed various hours per week. This is only possible with an understanding and supporting partner who also kicks butt sometimes.

Luckily Lothar volunteered to be our chauffeur. This lifted a huge weight from my shoulders as then I wouldn't have to drive and navigate and and.. but could concentrate on the crucial thing which was supporting and having everything prepared and handy. On June 20th we got to Locarno, our hotel was ideally located in walking distance of the start and T1. After the briefing we had a relaxed dinner (Pasta of course) right at the beach where Dominik would finish the swim only a couple of hours later.

It didn't take us long to prepare the T1 transition zone and we strolled over to the dock where the boat for the Brisago Islands left punctually at 4.15am. It was the first goosebump moment of the day. 239 athletes who set off for a great race. My respect for every single one of them.

Lothar and I packed the car and waited for Dominik in the transition zone. After record-breaking 59 minutes (and 3.8km swim) he was out and changed into cycling clothes. The stretch up the Leventina was uneventful, he was doing good and didn't even need to stop for food as I passed it to him rolling. With every supporting point Lothar and I became more professional. At Motto Bartola, half up the infamous old Gotthard pass road he stopped for some minutes to put sunscreen on and restock on food. In the meantime Lothar boiled water for soup and tea we would need later on.

Except the heat Dominik was in good spirits and when we met him atop Gotthard pass heigth he was exactly in his timing. The Furka pass demanded more and he did look exhausted when we met him there and he took some soup. But the worst was behind, now only the lower Grimsel pass was left and he mastered that one with bravour.

A short anecdote from Brienz: Lothar was about to pack a black bike into the car, only that it wasn't Dominik's. A Brasilian athlete had leaned it against our car and went off searching for his wife who was his supporter (we had seen her before, hard to not notice the large Brasilian flag she had on the hood). Apparently she had taken a wrong turn somewhere in the mountains and it would take her some time to get to Brienz. Even his helmet was in the car as we noticed the mixup. We wished him luck and although we didn't come across them again I know he finished the race somehow. Thank god, as otherwise I guess the atmosphere in their house would be a bit tense for a while...

Supporting during the run was somehow stressy as well. The runner is slower than the supporter car but the track is more direct, i.e. we sometimes did a lot more kilometers to get to the next supporting zone.

Dominik reached Grindelwald at a quarter to seven, after nearly 14 hours. He was hot, he was tired, and had stomach cramps. No wonder, eating only gels and bars and drinking mostly energetic drinks. He was not the only athlete with these sympoms as it's a known problem of endurance athletes. We were familiar with the coming 8km as we had done a training run a couple of weeks before and despite the exhaustion knew he/we would make it.

We rested a couple of minutes in Alpligen about half way up and Dominik forced himself to eat another gel which did some wonders. The second half is not as steep but still hard and I realized how much of a support in all senses I had become. The finish, the Kleine Scheidegg was in sight.

In the supporter zones you come across more or less the same athletes and fellow supporters. And you help each other. I think it's exactly what Swissman is about. We always had enough food, water and coke with us, and luckily helped out athletes who missed their supporters. More than once we tracked an athlete for a supporter who didn't know if missed him already (as for the tracking you either need a Swiss mobile or expensive data roaming). It's not about time, it is about team, and you become a team with the fellow teams as well.

Follow the rules. The supporter cars were not allowed to drive up Tremola and also mustn't support during the ascent to Grimsel. Unfortunately there were several who disobeyed and obstructed other athletes and cars. I hope that next year the organisation will follow through with the penalties for this that this year they had only on paper. In the end it is for the safety of all athletes.